Back on the bus we were informed that our hotel had been double booked by a group of senior citizens in town to compete at the senior Olympic Games (or something to that effect). Rather than kick the seniors out, our tour manager and driver managed to find us an alternative place to stay and this place was cool! Out in the middle of no where they had found a hotel that had all rooms around the outside of a big atrium that had a pool, ping pong tables, mini golf course, arcade games and much more. We had so much fun playing games all evening, that we didn't care that we weren't where we were supposed to be.
Chicago was the next city on the list, and the last place on my grand Contiki tour. It was one city I couldn't miss on this adventure, and even though I was getting off the tour at this stop, I was looking forward to it nonetheless.
Chicago city itself is very beautiful with lots of public art everywhere, surrounded by water (Lake Michigan) and tall buildings. But rather than feel like New York - a concrete jungle, it felt cam and epic somehow. I felt a real connection to the city, pushing it to the top of my 'fave places I've visited' list.
We did an architecture cruise along the river. It was a great way to see the city and learn about this history at the same time. Following the cruise we walked along Navy Pier, a tourist attraction on the waterfront. My friends did a bike cruise while I took a stroll along the waterfront and through the parks. I enjoyed some time alone to soak in the city and photograph all the statues and artworks I came across. Back from the bike ride, the girls and I went shopping. Well, they went shopping and I tagged along. After rounding the girls up from the various stores on Michigan Ave, we headed back to the hotel via Millenium Park and Grant Park. Millenium Park is where The Bean is. The bean is just that - a giant bean. It's made out of a mirrored metal, meaning you can get some pretty awesome reflection photos. I could have spent hours there photographing The Bean, especially if there had been an awesome sunset. I might have to get back to Chicago one day just to do that!
Our last night on tour was at a Pizza place famous for their Deep Dish Pizza. Think a pizza that looks like a pie. I'm not a big pizza fan and the size of the one slice made me feel rather unwell so I stuck to the salad instead. We followed the pizza with a local blues club. The band playing was pretty good and we enjoyed the from the second floor while playing pool. Seeing as a group of us were ending our tour in Chicago, it was a great chance to have one last great time with our new friends.
There were tears the next morning when we got up to say goodbye. The rest of our friends were (and still are) still on tour, heading off to their next destination. Hugs and many 'you better come visit' coversations later saw them get on the bus. I was rather surprised when our tour driver managed to pick me up and throw me in the air to say goodbye. The bus pulled out and off down the road, leaving us on the pavement contemplating what to do next.
I spent the rest of the morning packing my bag, saying goodbye to my roomie and heading off to the airport. I was on a late morning flight back to Canada. It was an odd feeling being on my own again. Even though my time with Contiki was finally over (44 days on tour!) I was excited about the next bit of this adventure - seeing my friend Ele again after a year and a half.
Would I do a Contiki tour again?! hmmmm, good question. I might be to close to such a long time on tour at the moment to give a realistic opinion. I think I'm probably too old - not mentally, but in terms of the amount of partying and drinking that goes on definetly. I really enjoyed making new friends, and I definetly did way more on these tours than I could possibly have done on my own. So maybe I would yes. I'd definetly do more tours, maybe not necessarily with Contiki next time. Yay, more adventures ahead!
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